If you thought four (mostly) crappy husbands, vengeful Hungarian cousins, and the Black Death could cramp this queen’s style, think again.
Italy
Posted inBooks, Highlight, Profiles & Interviews, Quotes
The Whole World is Naples Now
Sprawling, crumbling, beautiful, rough — Elena Ferrante’s Naples shows us the world’s violent underbelly, with no pretense.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Volcanologist’s Dilemma
In Naples, scientists find themselves grappling with unpredictable volcanoes and skeptical residents.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Monster Beneath
While Mount Vesuvius gets all the publicity, Naples’ Campi Flegrei — a caldera volcano — might be the most dangerous for the hundreds of thousands of residents within its red zone.
Posted inHistory, Nonfiction, Quotes
Your Own Personal Jesus-Lite
Elizabeth Harper traveled to Bonito, Italy to visit Zio Vincenzo. Long-lost relative? No, miracle-working mummified corpse of a nameless Neapolitan.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Reach Out and Touch Faith
On venerating Uncle Vincent and the saints who can never be saints.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Before the Avon Lady, There Were a Bunch of Monks With a Bottle of Vinegar
Meet the lifestyle and wellness hawkers of 13th century Italy: the Monks of Santa Maria Novella.
Posted inEditor's Pick
When Medieval Monks Couldn’t Cure the Plague, They Launched a Luxe Skincare Line
Whether you were European royalty desperately seeking a cure for impotence or a working-class neighbor looking for the latest deodorant, Santa Maria Novella was the place to go.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Football as a Barometer of Italian Society
“Football is a very simple barometer of a society,” says Paddy Agnew, an Irish Times correspondent and former RAI television commentator who has covered Italian soccer since the 1980s. “And if the red light is flashing in society, the red light is flashing in football. That’s what it is here, they’ve run out of petrol. […]
Posted inNonfiction
Queen Victoria’s Cramps and the History of Medicinal Marijuana in Europe
Social clubs in Europe are part of a centuries-long tradition of treating maladies with cannabis.